I am trying to manage my FS 2024 (Steam) folder and file locations but am really confused. 

Steam Settings shows the 9 GB 2024 Steam Library is on my drive A which is a 2TB NVMe drive in the priority slot on my motherboard.  The Packages folder is 7.8 GB of the 9 GB.  That is as I planned.

My confusion comes when I find a 16 GB Folder titled MicroSoftFlightSimulator 2024 on my Drive C (Windows Boot Drive).  The Packages folder is 12.3 GB of the 16 GB. In Packages I find Community at 5.6 GB, Official2020 at 4.3 GB and SteamedPackages at 2.4 GB.

My problem is that Drive C is an older SSD with only 250 GB storage.  I want the MicroSoftFlightSimulator 2024 folder to be on Drive A (bigger and faster) but have not succeeded it putting there.

During the 2024 install ( three times) I have specified A:... as the target but the install keeps putting the MicroSoftFlightSimulator 2024 Folder on Drive C

1. Can I some how just move the MicroSoftFlightSimulator 2024 to A: from C and change pointers in the sim?

2. If the answer to 1 is NO - how do I convince the Sim to install itself, in it's entirety, to Drive A?

Edited March 22, 20251 yr by TacomaSailor
Get rid of C: smiley face

This probably isn't the answer you want but if you have a 2TB nvme drive why do you have windows on a separate small old ssd? Reinstall windows on the nvme and you will get better performance and you won't have to bother trying to get msfs to install to non standard locations.

The Community folder location is specified in the last line of your Usercfg.opt file.
You will no doubt find that points to your appdata folder.
You can change that to place the Community folder anywhere on your PC.

It's location is entirely independent of your MSFS 2024 installation, but it would make sense to put it in the same place.
Obviously, you will also need to move the Community folder's contents to the new location.

Please note that the path to the Community folder must be to its containing folder, the game will create the Community folder itself.
This means that if you were to specify say A:\ MicroSoftFlightSimulator 2024, you must not add 
A:\ MicroSoftFlightSimulator 2024\Community, or you will find that you have 
A:\ MicroSoftFlightSimulator 2024\Community\Community.

Your two Official folders and Streamed Packages will also move to the same location and you will need to deal with that too.

Edited March 22, 20251 yr by Reader

21 minutes ago, bailout said:

This probably isn't the answer you want but if you have a 2TB nvme drive why do you have windows on a separate small old ssd? Reinstall windows on the nvme and you will get better performance and you won't have to bother trying to get msfs to install to non standard locations.

I have tried installing three times and each time I have told Steam I want everything on my A drive (bigger faster NVMe) but parts of the sim still end up on the C drive in Users\AppData\Roaming\MicrosoftSimulator2024.  How that happens is what I do not understand. 

Reader said: "The Community folder location is specified in the last line of your Usercfg.opt file.  You will no doubt find that points to your appdata folder. You can change that to place the Community folder anywhere on your PC."

I have repeatedly changed Usercfg.opt to point at the A drive and I have moved everything to the A drive.  But, at some point in the next few sessions the pointer in usercfg changes back to point at Users\AppData\Roaming\MicrosoftSimulator2024.  That is the source of my annoyance and confusion. 

Edited March 22, 20251 yr by TacomaSailor

I moved the entire Drive C \Users\AppData\Roaming\MicrosoftSimulator2024 to my A Drive and into a new folder called MicrosoftSimulator202.  Ensured there was no copy of MicrosoftSimulator2024 left on the C drive.

The sim ran fine and I flew around in VR for a good while.  The sim performed as expected and ended normally.

Upon looking thru the C directory I found a BRAND NEW copy of Users\AppData\Roaming\MicrosoftSimulator2024 with all the .cfg files from the most recent session.  Most significant was the SteamedPackages folder that was NEWLY created and is 1.6 GB in size. 

The BIG problem is that the last line in the Usercfg.opt file on the C drive points at the newly created Users\AppData\Roaming\MicrosoftSimulator2024 on the C drive.

And ... that is why I cannot rid my C drive of FS 2024!  Everytime the sim runs it creates a new copy of Users\AppData\Roaming\MicrosoftSimulator2024 on Drive C no matter where I point the usercfg.opt parameter.  

After finding the new Microsoft FlightSimulator 2024 folder on Drive C - I checked the Steam properties page for FS 2024 and it tells me the sim library is on Drive A. 

What do I do?

Edited March 22, 20251 yr by TacomaSailor

Ran the sim with ProcMon to watch file activity.  Started the sim with NO folder on the C Drive named Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024. I also verified the Usercfg.opt on Drive A pointed at the FS 2024 folder on Drive A.

There was a Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 folder on the A drive containing everything the sim needed to run.  Sim loaded and ran perfectly, ended normally and left a brand new copy of Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 on Drive C with a Usercfg.opt pointing at the new folder on drive C.

ProcMon clearly shows the sim loading all necessary files from Drive A but occasionally switching to Drive C.  At times the sim alternated reading from A and C.

The very first attempt the sim made to access Usercfg.opt was a CREATE on Drive C.  At no time during the sim loading or ending did the sim reference Usercfg.opt on Drive A.  The puzzle is how did the sim know to load all the files from A:\Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024\Packages if it did not read the Usercfg file?

The sim even knew to load from Community on Drive A.  

At example of the file loading behavior:  The sim loaded many thousands of Scenery Index files from Drive C and their associated streamed content from Drive A.  Then it switched to reading all the SimObjects from Drive C anad after loading many thousands of Sim Objects it then switched back to alternating SimObjects off C and Streamed Packages off of A.

After getting my plane ready to fly - I ended the sim.

At that point the sim created another new Usercfg.opt on Drive C.

Why is my Sim duplicating all the files that it uses off of Drive A and putting them on Drive C?

Hello @TacomaSailor,

I don't have any solutions for you, but I did see a comment on another forum that may be relevant. I don't know enough about MSFS to know if this is true, but the commenter basically said that C drive primacy is preserved so there can be commonality across platforms (Xbox, Steam, Microsoft Store). Perhaps Xbox users have no choice but use the C drive, and so the software wants everyone to use the C drive, so that updates or server actions happen in the expected place. Again, I don't know anything about whether this is true or not, but it might explain what you are seeing.

 

The Microsoft recommendation is to install the core files on the C drive, and the content on another drive.

The usercfg.opt file is indeed on the C drive, but the last line would point to your A drive.

Try this and see if it sticks.. 🙂

Quote

Hello,
the Community folder location is specified in the last line of your Usercfg.opt file.
You will no doubt find that points to your appdata folder.
You can change that to place the Community folder anywhere on your PC.
It's location is entirely independent of your MSFS 2024 installation, but it would make sense to put it in the same place.
Obviously, you will also need to move the Community folder's contents to the new location.

Just to illustrate:

I edited the last line of the Usercfg.opt file:
 

and created the folder.

When MSFS 2024 started, it added these four folders to the newly assigned location.

 

Mine is a Microsoft Store installation, so I suppose that Steam might be interfering, but I would expect that even Steam will allow you to decide where to put the folders.
There will always be entries in the appdata folder, but they should all but one be only links to where you installed MSFS 2024.
I have no idea what you did in that respect, but you should be able to check and move it, if required, in your Installed Apps.

16 hours ago, TacomaSailor said:

I am trying to manage my FS 2024 (Steam) folder and file locations but am really confused.

https://flightsimulator.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360015910560-How-to-install-Flight-Sim-on-a-different-drive

Followed the instructions in the Zen desk link.  Did not help my situation. 

That link references FS 2020 and has a last update of April 17, 2024. Is it relevant here?
 

C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\MicrosoftFlightSimulator is an EMPTY folder in my case

 

Thanks for all the advice.  

I now understand that the Steam version of MSFS 2024 will alway create a Folder on the C drive  in Users\xxxx\AppData\Roaming named MicroSoft Flight Simulator 2024 and in that folder will be folders such as:

cache (psocache files)

Missions (empty except for one customflt.FLT)

Packages (empty)

SceneryIndexes (36 MB)

SimObjects (31 planes in seperate folders, each containing a .cfg file)

WASM (folder for 2020 and another for 2024 totaling 13 MB)

Weather (presets but empty)

.cfg files (camera, content, FlightSimlator2024, SimConnect)

UserCfg.opt (Installed Packages points at A drive)

I will just leave MicroSoft Flight Simulator 2024 folder (about 54 MB today) in place and be happy that every other Folder and File is on my A drive

I don't know what I did - but the last execution of the Sim left UserCfg pointing at the A drive so now all is good

 

 

 

 

Edited March 23, 20251 yr by TacomaSailor